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Mumbai are in dire need of a change of fortune, but Chennai Super Kings may not be in an obliging mood

The Preview by Vishal Dikshit27-Apr-20184:43

Agarkar: Rohit needs to bat a bit higher

Form guide (most recent matches first)

Chennai Super Kings: Beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets, beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by four runs, beat Rajasthan Royals by 64 runs
Mumbai Indians: Lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 31 runs, lost to Rajasthan Royals by three wickets, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 46 runs.

Big Picture

Since playing the tournament opener in Mumbai, the two most successful teams in IPL history have had contrasting journeys in the last 20 days. Table-toppers Chennai Super Kings have most bases covered and are dominating the league with only one loss so far whereas defending champions Mumbai Indians are languishing at the bottom with only one win to their name.Mumbai’s ride hasn’t been as bad as Delhi Daredevils’ but when they were bowled out for 87 by Sunrisers Hyderabad at home, they had moved one step closer to pressing the panic button. Two more losses and they will virtually be out of the playoffs race. But their next opponent is a team that has only become stronger in the last week. Super Kings’ batting order looks solid, opening bowlers move the ball around, Dwayne Bravo delivers with bat and ball in the death overs, and MS Dhoni’s six-hitting during his 70* off 34 against Royal Challengers Bangalore is surely not going to soothe any Mumbai bowler’s nerves.Mumbai’s bowling has not stuttered much though. Their middle order has been the main weakness and even though individual efforts have stood out sporadically, the entire unit hasn’t been able to come together to clinch the crucial moments, especially in the dying moments of their close losses. Mayank Markande continues to strangle the opposition, one of their top-order batsmen scores runs in nearly every game, Jasprit Bumrah doesn’t leak too many runs, but something is still amiss. Mumbai need to plug their holes quickly because time is running out.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ambati Rayudu, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 5 Sam Billings, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Shardul Thakur, 11 Imran TahirMumbai Indians: 1 Suryakumar Yadav, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Rohit Sharma (capt), 5 Krunal Pandya, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Mitchell McClenaghan, 9 Mayank Markande, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Previous meeting

Who knows how different Mumbai’s season could have been had they beaten Super Kings in the opening match. Mumbai had them at 118 for 8 in the 17th over after scoring 165 for 4 before Bravo turned Mumbai’s music down and made them dance to his own tunes.

Strategy Punt

Mumbai need to make some changes, be it in personnel or shuffling of the batting order. Learning from their only win so far, they could open with Rohit Sharma, who scored a majestic 94 off 52 at No. 4 against Royal Challengers, but had effectively opened after they were 0 for 2 in the first over. Rohit’s slow starts and late flourishes are not a secret anymore. His strike rate in the IPL Powerplays since 2015 is 127.3 so if Evin Lewis can do the hitting initially and Rohit later on, they may have a better chance to utilise his batting style.

Stats that matter

• Ambati Rayudu has scored 283 runs this season at a strike rate of 159 and average of 47.2. He needs 113 more runs to make this his most prolific IPL season. He also needs 84 runs to reach 4000 runs in T20s.
• Super Kings’ economy rate in the middle overs stands at 8.57, only behind Rajasthan Royals’ 8.59. Imran Tahir has been crucial in that phase with six wickets.
• Tahir has enjoyed bowling at the MCA Stadium in the IPL. The legspinner has 15 wickets from eight innings at the ground, with an average of 17 and economy rate of 8.2.
• Dwayne Bravo has an enviable record against two of Mumbai bowlers in T20s. He has scored 30 runs off 16 balls against Jasprit Bumrah and 40 off 18 balls against Mitchell McClenaghan.
• Expect Mustafizur Rahman to bowl as soon as Ravindra Jadeja comes out to bat. The allrounder has scored only 16 runs off 18 balls against him in all T20s, and has been dismissed four times.
• Kieron Pollard could draw inspiration from his record against Dwayne Bravo to turn his form around: 182 runs off 111 balls with a strike rate of 164.

Fantasy picks

Krunal Pandya and Shane Watson. Picking allrounders is the safest bet in fantasy for obvious reasons. Krunal has been the most economical Mumbai bowler (7.04) this season, has taken four catches and six wickets in 15 overs. He also bats at No. 5 nowadays, above Kieron Pollard and Hardik, which allows him time to score more runs. Watson has struck a century, boasts of a strike rate of 162 this season and is their joint second-highest wicket taker, with an economy rate of 8.23. He could well be one of the most valued allrounders this season.

Kusal Mendis’s unbeaten 166 helped Sri Lanka to post a comfortable 321 for 4 on the first day in Galle

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle07-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:35

Fernando: No-ball scare gave Mendis focus

How sweet homecomings can be. Having failed to score 300 in any of their six Test innings in South Africa, Sri Lanka rode Kusal Mendis’ suave 166 not out to a score of 321 for 4 on the first day in Galle. Along the way, Mendis signed up Asela Gunaratne for a sidekick, forging with him a dominant 196-run fourth-wicket stand, of which Gunaratne’s share was 85.This Galle pitch deserves a first-innings total of at least 400, so although Sri Lanka’s position is strong for now, it is certainly not an unassailable one. Bangladesh, though, will rue their falling away towards the end of the day. Their first three hours had been disciplined and energetic, the quicks squeezing a little movement from a reluctant surface in the early overs, before the spinners dealt almost exclusively in tight lines and lengths at their initial introduction. Their initial reward for this stretch of good bowling was a scoreline of 92 for 3, but then their pep waivered. The last dismissal came after several hours, not long before the close of play.

Mendis-Gunaratne’s record

• 2 Centuries for Kusal Mendis at home from nine innings. Mendis scored 176 against Australia last year and is currently unbeaten on 166. This is also his third first-class century.

• 166 Runs scored by Sri Lanka from 35 overs in the third session of play. Mendis scored 86 of those runs.

• 196 Runs added by Gunaratne and Mendis – the highest fourth-wicket partnership for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh

That late scalp was well-deserved by Taskin Ahmed, though – he was Bangladesh’s most consistent operator through the day, and it was appropriate that he have at least one scalp to show for his toil.Mendis’ innings was not without its flaws, but the mistakes came in the early going. He was assured through the middle of the day, and by the end: sublime. The worst shot had been his first. Mendis flashed at a short ball outside off stump from Subhashis Roy, to send an under-edge to the keeper. Bangladesh were celebrating and he was trudging off when the umpires sought to run a no-ball check, with replays showing the bowler had overstepped. Though visibly relieved, the experience was enough to scare Mendis into early reticence – only 22 came from his first 60 balls.There had been a little juice in the pitch in the early overs, too – a modicum of sideways movement, and just a hint of zip off the pitch. When this disappeared in the day’s relentless heat, Mendis began to prosper. First he parsed the mild spin of Shakib Al Hasan and the moderate turn of Mehedi Hasan. He then withstood Taskin’s intense second and third spells. Eventually Subashis tried to unsettle him with a short-ball assault, but though the occasional bouncer beat his hook shot, and another ball took the splice of his bat, he retained his wicket, and soon enough, began to score off the rib-high balls as well. As always with a good Mendis innings, there was that flicked on-drive, but on this occasion it was the swat-pull that defined his progress through the middle of the day. His first fifty took 101 deliveries but, in the company of Gunaratne – who was also scoring smoothly – Mendis hit his second off 64 balls.As the day grew long, and Bangladesh began to visibly wilt, Mendis only grew more dominant. He slinked down the crease to hit Shakib over long-on in the 76th over, then slog-swept Mehedi over deep midwicket soon after. He sailed past 150 in the final overs of the day. This innings was not nearly as impressive as his maiden ton – 176 against Australia last year – but he has, nevertheless, already displayed a thirst for big hundreds.Gunaratne, his partner for 43 overs, rarely appeared troubled at the crease, and was quick to punish anything short. Against the spinners he deployed his favoured sweep and reverse sweep. He glided to a half-century in 85 balls, and rarely failed to find gaps to release the pressure when a few dot balls had built up. This was his third fifty-plus score in five Test innings.Before Gunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal had produced a long, fruitless stay at the crease. It was not tortured exactly – the ball rarely beating his bat or causing him strife – but it was unambitious in the extreme. Why he embraced this ultra-conservative approach is unclear, particularly as he had just clattered 190 off 253 against the same attack in the tour match last week. Whatever the case, he only succeeded in taking time out of the game. Midway through the afternoon, a sudden burst of energy overtook him: he attempted to flay Mustafizur Rahman through the covers, then tried to slash him a little squarer next ball. The first shot was mistimed, and yielded no run. The second attempt sent a thick outside edge directly to gully, who gobbled up the catch. Chandimal ended with 5 runs to show for 54 balls and 71 minutes at the crease.The first session had been Bangladesh’s best, as Subhashis, Taskin and Mustafizur delivered impeccable spells to corner Sri Lanka into conservatism. Subhashis had made the first incision, darting a ball back off the seam to rattle Upul Tharanga’s stumps. Mehedi had Dimuth Karunaratne cutting too close to his body to make the second breakthrough. Sri Lanka were 61 for 2 at lunch, and there seemed a chance, at that stage, that their unusual decision to field only six batsmen for this Test would immediately hurt them.Mendis ensured that would not be the case.

Ravi Shastri, India’s team director, has put the onus on the bowlers to learn their lessons and in particular, he has defended the batsmen against charges of selfishness

Sidharth Monga19-Jan-20162:05

‘An opportunity for youngsters to learn’ – Shastri

Ravi Shastri, India’s team director, has thrown his weight behind his batsmen and has asked the bowlers to learn their lessons. India have scored 309, 308 and 295 in the first three ODIs of the series against Australia, but have failed to defend any of those totals. In particular, Shastri has defended the batsmen against charges of selfishness.India have so far scored 67, 67 and 60 from overs 31 to 40. These have been the overs when their set batsmen have approached their hundreds. In Perth, Rohit Sharma took 24 balls from 83 at the start of the 31st over to reach his hundred. Similarly in Brisbane, between the 30th and the 40th overs, Rohit took 21 balls to move from 86 to 100. Virat Kohli took 15 balls to score the last 16 runs of his century between the 38th and 43rd overs in Melbourne.This has reignited a belief held by some Australians that Indian batsmen slow down near a milestone, costing their team crucial runs. Matthew Hayden said so 10 years ago, and it has begun resonating in the Australian media again.MS Dhoni calmly said “no” when asked if he thought Indian batsmen were milestone-driven, but Shastri had a more colourful answer. “If they were focusing on milestones, Virat Kohli wouldn’t have been the fastest to 7000 runs; he would have taken another 100 games. If that was the case, Rohit Sharma would not be having two double hundreds, and a score of 264.”Shastri also said there wasn’t much more the batsmen could have done even though they were playing probably a third-choice Australian bowling attack. “I don’t think so,” Shastri said. “If you look at the skills of those bowlers, there is skill there. You might say inexperience. They have played a lot of cricket, a lot of domestic T20s, a lot of one-days. So the skill factor is very good.”The Indian attack is far more experienced, but a mix of conditions and poor bowling has let them down. Shastri said the bowlers needed to learn fast. “Finishing touch is better bowling, and being more consistent as a bowling unit. As MS mentioned, there were too many easy boundaries. It is not like the batsmen had to earn it, they were given. That should be eliminated. Even if you cut that by 60%, we will have tighter games. Those are the areas. Attention to basics. If we do that right, who knows…”With the series lost and expectation reduced, Shastri said he wanted the bowlers to show him they had learned their lesson. “What you want to see is the bowlers learning from what has happened in the first three games,” he said. “If that happens, that will be the biggest plus irrespective of the result. That is what I said last year when we played cricket in Australia. We might have lost the series 2-0, but deep inside I knew the way the boys played there was only going to be improvement.”Shastri did mention the tough schedule and injuries (one, to Mohammed Shami) as a mitigating factor. “It is a young side, there have been three debutants, we have been plagued by injuries,” Shastri said. “No excuses, I am not giving any excuses here, but it is an opportunity for the youngsters to learn. In Australia nothing comes easy. It’s one of the hardest places to play. You are playing against the world champions. The fact that you are competing, and they have competed right through this one-day series, is very good.”We need bench strength, this is one of the toughest tours. And I have been to Australia many many times. I tell you why. Because if you look at the last six days we have been in three time zones. It is not often you go through that. You play in Perth, get on a flight to Brisbane where the time is different, then to Melbourne where the time is different. All in a matter of six days. When you consider all that, I think the boys have done extremely well.”Shastri said he will ask the BCCI to send a 16-member squad for such tours.

Cricket South Africa will interview three candidates, including former ICC chief Haroon Lorgat, for the chief executive’s job next week

Firdose Moonda10-Jul-2013Former ICC boss Haroon Lorgat is one of three candidates who will be interviewed by CSA for the position of CEO next week. The body has been without a permanent replacement for Gerald Majola since he was sacked last October although its leadership position has been fluid for the last 16 months, since Majola was suspended in March 2012.CSA has been through one acting boss, Jacques Faul, who is now in charge of the Titans franchise and are currently on their second. Naasei Appiah, the organisation’s CFO has been heading it since March this year as the timeline for appointing a CEO continues to shift.Initial talk out of CSA’s offices was that it would appoint its new CEO by April this year. In May, it announced that the process was still “running on schedule,” and the seat would be filled by the beginning of July. This has now been moved a third time.ESPNcricinfo understands one of the reasons for the delay was caused by difficulties in drawing up a shortlist. Despite receiving over 200 applications, CSA’s board was not satisfied with the overall calibre of the people who expressed interest in the job and extended the process to see if they could attract other candidates.Some of the contenders who are up against Lorgat are believed to be Bheki Shongwe, MD of Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa’s current football champions, university professor Denver Hendricks and head of Kagiso media Murphy Morobe. Previously Lorgat was understood to be competing with CSA’s cricket operations manager Mike Gajjar, Border Cricket CEO Thema Lupuwana and CSA’s transformation manager Max Jordaan and the concern was that the majority of candidates lacked significant business experience.Now, Lorgat remains the favourite but for a different reason: he could be the only one with extensive cricketing knowledge. Lorgat has been involved with South African cricket in the past, as convenor of selectors, ran the ICC for four years and has been involved at consultancy levels with Sri Lanka and Pakistan in recent months.The biggest obstacle to his challenge for the job appears to be from another cricketing country – India. The BCCI has made clear its preference that CSA does not appoint Lorgat because of the Indian board’s acrimonious history with him. Lorgat is believed to have irked the BCCI in his time at the ICC. As a result, India threatened to pull out of the upcoming tour to South Africa if Lorgat was given the job, according to CSA’s lead independent director Norman Arendse, who revealed the BCCI’s stance in March.CSA has since made public the fixtures for India’s tour to South Africa between November and January, which includes seven ODIs, two T20s and three Tests. India have objected to the itinerary, saying CSA released the schedule without the BCCI’s consent and that they would prefer fewer ODIs to give their players time off before they head to New Zealand.While the BCCI claim to have notified CSA of its grievances, CSA say it has not received any formal complaint. The already tense relationship between the two boards, who were previously on excellent terms, may only escalate as Lorgat moves closer to the top job.

Australia’s captain Michael Clarke does not believe the nation’s cricketers are making unreasonable demands of Cricket Australia in their ongoing pay negotiations

Brydon Coverdale14-Jun-2012Australia’s captain Michael Clarke does not believe the nation’s cricketers are making unreasonable demands of Cricket Australia in their ongoing pay negotiations. Clarke and his one-day side flew out for England on Thursday with the looming possibility that their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cricket Australia will lapse during the trip, if a new deal is not struck by June 30.That would place Clarke in the unenviable position of leading the Australian side through a potential player strike, a scenario that neither the players nor Cricket Australia want to see happen. But as negotiations were set to continue between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA), one or both parties will need to concede ground to ensure a deal is done by the end of the month.The ACA believes Cricket Australia’s proposal to change the definition of cricket revenue could leave the players worse off, but the board maintains the players will receive more money as a result of the alterations. James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said last week the players would be $80 million better off over a five-year period under the new proposal.”That was news to me,” Clarke said of the $80 million figure. “One thing I do know about the players is we’re asking no more than what we’ve had. We believe the most important thing is giving back to this game, not just for the players that are playing today but for the future of the game. We want what’s fair. We want the game to continue to be the number one game in this country and hopefully in the world. As captain of the Australian team we will do whatever it takes to make sure this game continues to grow. We’re asking for nothing more.””Hopefully it will be sorted sooner rather than later, for all parties. I think there’s a meeting scheduled tomorrow with [Cricket Australia general manager of team performance] Pat Howard and [ACA chief executive] Paul Marsh … The last thing we want to do is go on strike. I don’t want to miss any cricket for Australia. I think it’s best for everyone the sooner it gets done the better.”As well as the disagreement over the way cricket revenue is divided, Cricket Australia’s push for performance-based player contracts was also a sticking point in negotiations, although one that appeared more likely to be resolved. Clarke said the existing system already rewarded and punished players based on their output.”I believe our contracts are already performance-based,” Clarke said. “We have 25 contracted players; 90% of those guys are on one-year contracts and if you don’t perform in that 12 months you no longer have a contract, so you’re looking for another job.”Australia play an ODI against Ireland and one against England before the June 30 MoU deadline. A further four ODIs against England are scheduled for the first two weeks of July.

Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, is not getting ahead of himself despite his side’s powerful position in the second Test against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2011Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, is not getting ahead of himself despite his side’s powerful position in the second Test against West Indies. Pakistan need only five more wickets to beat West Indies and level the series 1-1, while the hosts require 297 runs for an unlikely victory, or to bat all day to salvage a draw.”Until the time you’ve taken the last wicket, the match is still not finished,” Misbah said after stumps on the fourth day in St Kitts. “It’s a game of cricket and you have to finish the game otherwise it’s really half the job done.”Pakistan had Misbah to thank for giving them an excellent chance at victory, after he and Taufeeq Umar both made centuries in the second innings. It was Misbah’s third Test hundred and he was unbeaten on 102 when he declared with a lead of 426, a fine effort for a 36-year-old in his sixth Test as captain.”It’s really, really good to have a hundred, especially when you are captain,” Misbah said. “For your own confidence and for the sake of the team, it’s really important that the captain chips in and perform at all stages in the game.”West Indies made a poor start to their chase, with two of the top four out for ducks, and by stumps they were 130 for 5 and relying heavily on the vice-captain Brendan Nash (30 not out) to salvage something on the final day. Abdur Rehman caused the biggest problems with three wickets, all of which came soon after the tea break and shattered West Indies’ hopes of ending the day in a reasonable position.”At tea, my coach [Waqar Younis] and my captain came to me and said, ‘Go back there and go back to your normal bowling,” Rehman said. “Don’t give them flight, just tight, tight, contain and you’ll get the wickets’.”To rescue West Indies, Nash will need not only a major innings himself but also help from the lower order, including Carlton Baugh (7 not out) and the next man in, the captain Darren Sammy. West Indies won the first Test in the two-match series.

Andrew Miller presents the highlights from the fourth day at Lord’s as Tamim Iqbal captivates the crowd with a brilliant hundred and Jonathan Trott claims a vital first Test wicket

Andrew Miller at Lord's30-May-2010Celebration of the dayIt was Michael Slater who first dispensed with decorum at Lord’s when, in 1993, he punched the air and kissed the crest of his Australia helmet after reaching his maiden Test hundred. Today, Tamim Iqbal carried that exuberance an extra yard or 20. Having cavorted through the nineties in a calculated assault on Tim Bresnan, he secured Bangladesh’s first Test century at the home of cricket with a dismissive smack back over the bowler’s head, whereupon he hurtled almost to within touching distance of the dressing-room balcony, and pointed to the back of his shirt as if to tell his team-mates to get on with the business of sticking his name up on the honours-board. Clearly, in his excitement, Tamim forgot that his name only appears on his back in ODI and Twenty20 contests, but after racking up a sublime century from 94 deliveries, he might as well have been playing limited-overs.Shot of the dayThere were so many to choose from, most of them audacious and nearly all of them impeccably timed, but nothing confirmed the presence of a rare talent quite like the short-arm pull with which Tamim rifled Steven Finn through midwicket for four. The shot was the third of three fours in a row, and whereas the first two were based entirely on bravado – a bludgeoning drive and a streaky edge – this was an emphatic stamp of class. The ball was short and rose steeply, but Tamim rocked back with his weight perched daintily on one leg, a la Brian Lara, and all that remained was for the fielders to whistle in admiration.Acceleration of the dayThroughout their alliances at the top of the Bangladesh order, Tamim and Imrul Kayes have been like the hare and the tortoise – only without the twist to the end of the fable. Until this Test, Kayes’ highest score in 22 Test innings had been a measly 33, and it was to his great credit that the lure of Lord’s brought him out of his shell. After a first-innings 43, Kayes was briefly the pacesetter in the follow-on, as he hustled along to 48 from 71 balls, with Tamim trailing in his wake on 37 not out (albeit from just 44 balls). But then, while Kayes fretted over his landmark, Tamim went into overdrive, adding 40 runs to his total from 27 balls before his partner could notch up his fifty.Over of the dayAs England discovered to their frustration on Friday, their attack was pretty toothless when the sun broke through the clouds. So, when Andrew Strauss turned to his spinner, Graeme Swann, at 102 for 0 in the 22nd over, he did so in the knowledge that he was running short on options. Tamim’s response was to batter England’s Player of the Year into submission from the word go. The first ball was a mistimed charge that telegraphed his intent; the second ball was belted high and handsomely into the Mound Stand for six. A brutal drive for four came next, and then it was down onto one knee once more, for another scintillating slog-sweep over the ropes. Seventeen runs were swiped from the over, as England’s toils continued.Breakthrough of the dayJonathan Trott once claimed career-best bowling figures of 7 for 39 – unfortunately the horse (Kent on that occasion) had already bolted by the time he was called into the attack, with his first wicket coming at 534 for 3. He’d have been forgiven for feeling a similar sense of foreboding when Andrew Strauss threw him the ball as a last resort this afternoon, with Bangladesh cruising on 265 for 2. But in a diligent spell of wicket-to-wicket medium-pace, Trott throttled the run-rate and made the incision, as Jahurul Islam inside-edged into his pads, for the bowler to snaffle a sprawling chance in his followthrough.Cameo of the dayMohammad Ashraful could not have hoped for friendlier conditions as he walked out for his second innings of the match. The ground was lit up by late-evening sunshine, his top-order colleagues had demonstrated beyond any doubt the absence of malice in the pitch (and the opposition, for that matter), and as for the Lord’s faithful, they were bound to be predisposed to a player whom they still recall and revere for his Aussie-toppling innings at Cardiff in 2005. Sure enough, he notched his first boundary from the third delivery he faced, then added three four in the space of eight deliveries, including a sumptuous uppercut to deflect Finn through third man. Alas, it was not to last. Jimmy Anderson, armed with the new ball, tied him down in a tight and threatening over, before inducing a nick through to Matt Prior.

Pacy Filer in the wickets, but Sciver-Brunt and Gardner looked to have done enough to win

ECB Media29-Jul-2024Manchester Originals held their nerve with ball in hand to defy a record partnership between Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ash Gardner and take the victory at Emirates Old Trafford in The Hundred.Sciver-Brunt (56 not out) and Australian all-rounder Gardner (36) combined for a record fourth-wicket partnership of 86 and looked primed to take Trent Rockets over the line, but with three balls left and victory in sight Kathryn Bryce dismissed Gardner to drag the game back in the home side’s favour.Ultimately Sciver-Brunt needed a final-ball boundary to win the game, but could only manage two.Bryce’s momentum-swinging intervention rounded off a team performance for Manchester Originals, who would have been happy to post 137 for 6 on a slow pitch after being asked to bat first.Eve Jones (34), Beth Mooney (24) and Bryce (32) herself were the mainstays of their effort – their highest total since 2022 – and once again captain Sophie Ecclestone added late momentum with a powerful five-ball 13.Early wickets in Trent Rockets’ reply from the pacy and impressive Lauren Filer saw the Originals ahead of the ledger as far as WinViz was concerned, but once Sciver-Brunt and Gardner came together the Rockets appeared increasingly comfortable despite the rising run-rate.When Sciver-Brunt hit Ecclestone for two fours within the final 15 deliveries, she appeared to have done enough to make it two wins from two for her team but Bryce and the Originals had the final say to get off the mark in the fourth year of The Hundred.Meerkat Match Hero Filer said: “It was a real team performance today. Everyone did their job and it’s just so good to get over the line.”The pitch is actually a bit slower than last game. We batted very, very well on it and we thought it was a good total.”We talked about doing the simple things for longer and nailing our skills, and I think we did that today.”

Prolific Championship run-getter unlikely to find a way into Ashes shake-up

ECB Reporters Network05-May-2023Sam Hain passed fifty for the third time in five innings this season as Warwickshire continued to dominate Hampshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship.Hain began the season with centuries against Kent and Somerset and returned to form after a quiet match against Surrey with a faultless 85.
Hong Kong-born, Australian-raised Hain captained England Lions in Sri Lanka during the winter, but a hamstring injury scuppered his chance to train with the Test squad in the UAE before the tour to Pakistan. He instead busied himself at the Big Bash.A call-up for the Ashes is unlikely, despite his form, with just Josh Bohannon ahead of him in the Division One scoring charts this season. He has 382 runs at an average of 95.5.Hampshire had found hope with three wickets in a truncated morning session to fashion a collapse from 83 without loss to 95 for 3, but half-centuries for Alex Davies, Ed Barnard, and Michael Burgess accompanied Hain. Barnard, in particular, ground the hosts down to end the day on a stylish unbeaten 91.Warwickshire on 364 for five, hold a lead of 135 – although forecast rain on Saturday may thwart their chances of a victory that, if gained, would represent a significant recovery after their defeat against Surrey at Edgbaston last week.Hain’s stock has been rising for several years, having burst onto the scene with a double-century in his debut season in 2015 – where he averaged over 50. He was the third-leading run-scorer in Division One last year, with 1137, and since the start of the 2019 no one has scored more runs in the Championship (and Bob Willis Trophy) than Hain.Against Hampshire’s Keith Barker-less attack, he found a perfect adagio tempo where he carefully went about his work, having arrived at the crease in the middle of a top-order hiccup.Rob Yates and Alex Davies had negotiated the evening session of the first day flawlessly to compile 82 runs but were separated within three legal deliveries of the morning when Yates lobbed a caught and bowled back at Kyle Abbott. Davies reached his 44th first-class fifty with a slap through the covers, but perished three balls later when Mohammad Abbas nipped one back into his pads.Only seven overs were possible before lunch but Will Rhodes becoming the third victim – leg before to Abbott.Hain settled things after lunch. For large periods you wouldn’t notice him, and then he’d force your attention with an impeccably timed shot. His cover drive to take him to a 110-ball fifty was the undoubted highlight.Mousley stuck with him for just over an hour and a half in a 69-run stand before he was lbw, swinging across the line to Ian Holland.
Holland also produced a rare misjudgement from Hain to be caught behind – a decision which appeared to disappoint the batter.Barnard had put on 86 with Hain, as Warwickshire strode into a first-innings lead and to a batting point, and reached his maiden half-century for the county after his winter move from Worcestershire.

Heartbroken batter wants to stay with the team and play their final Ranji Trophy league match on March 3

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Feb-2022Baroda batter Vishnu Solanki has decided to carry on playing the Ranji Trophy despite the heartbreaking loss of his father and his day-old daughter in a span of two weeks.On February 11, while in quarantine in Cuttack with the rest of Baroda squad, Solanki received the news that his wife had given birth to a girl. Being a first-time parent Solanki, 29, was ecstatic. The batter had made headlines in the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when he hit 16 runs off the final three balls of the quarter-final to stun Haryana in a photo finish. He was ready for the Ranji Trophy, which had returned after a hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.However, on February 12, Solanki was woken up close to midnight by the Baroda team manager Dharmendra Arothe, who told the player that his day-old daughter had died. The next day, a distraught Solanki packed his bags and flew back home. He missed Baroda’s first match of league phase, against Bengal, which was played between February 16 and 19.Solanki returned to Cuttack on February 17 to prepare for Baroda’s second match, against Chandigarh. Having swallowed the pain of his newborn’s death, Solanki showed even greater powers of resilience by scoring an unbeaten 103 at the end of the second day of the match.”He said he had dedicated the century to his daughter,” team manager Arothe told ESPNcricinfo on February 25. Solanki did not even get to hold his little girl while she was alive.Then, on Sunday morning, Solanki was once again struck by tragedy. Around 8.40am, Arothe received a call that said the player’s father had died. With the match, in its final day, starting at 8.45am, Arothe relayed the information initially to Baroda captain Kedar Devdhar via Ninad Rathwa, the 12th man. Rathwa, who is a good friend of Solanki, then told him the news and watched him leave the field. According to Arothe, Solanki’s dad, who was 75, was ailing for a while and in hospital for about two months.Chandigarh and Baroda wore black arm bands on Sunday. The match referee Amit Pathak also gave Solanki permission to use the phone in the dressing room to talk with his family. “He saw the funeral of his dad virtually from the dressing room,” Arothe said. Both teams along with the match officials also observed two minutes’ silence in the memory of two family members Solanki had lost.The Baroda Cricket Association has promised him all the help he might need, including flying him back home, but Solanki informed the team management he wants to stay and play their last league game of the season, against Hyderabad, starting on March 3.Former Mumbai captain and current BCA chief Shishir Hattangadi paid tribute to Solanki, tweeting, “A story of a cricketer who lost his new born daughter a few days ago. He attends the funeral and gets back to represent his team to get a hundred. His name may not make social media ‘likes’, but for me #vishnoosolanki is a real life hero. An inspiration!”